Roper: Howard Dean commits act of candor, says tax increases for all

By Rob Roper

Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, who went on to serve as the Democratic National Committee chairman, admitted in a recent interview on MSNBC with a bit of a chuckle, “This is going to seem like heresy from a progressive: The truth is, everybody needs to pay more taxes, not just the rich.” Everybody. That means you.

This, of course, is absolutely accurate if the increasingly “progressive” agenda of the left — which includes government run health care, government run child care, “free” college for all, a government-provided guaranteed income, the list goes on — is enacted into law. None of these things is free. It must be paid for, and, as such, Dean’s comment should be obvious. Squeezing just “the rich” won’t be enough to satisfy the progressives’ thirst for other people’s money. Everybody will be squeezed, and squeezed hard.

Dean’s candor is in contrast to the misleading rhetoric we hear from the likes of Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and now Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who nonsensically imply that just the billionaires being forced to pay their “fair share” will be enough to pay for their agenda. Not even close. Hold onto your wallet.

Dean’s comments also highlight just how far to the left the Democratic Party has moved in a relatively short time. As governor, Dean was considered to be a moderate, particularly on fiscal issues. Now he is characterizing himself as a progressive and gleefully endorsing higher taxes on the poor and the middle class. I’m not sure that’s what lower- and middle-income Americans think they’re signing up for. Thanks to Dean for at least being honest.

Rob Roper is president of the Ethan Allen Institute. Reprinted with permission from the Ethan Allen Institute Blog.

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons/Elvert Barnes

4 thoughts on “Roper: Howard Dean commits act of candor, says tax increases for all

  1. That’s the typical progressive approach to all problems, especially when they make sure that they are taken care of. You never hear these people talk about term limits or for them to have the same health and retirement benefits as the rest of us. Lord knows that you don’t screw with their entitlements. What a bunch of Hippocrates. Dean has been a has been since his screaming episode and Sanders is nothing but a big mouth blowhard.

  2. Free, Free, Free = Tax, Tax, Tax ……………….

    So keep working, the freeloaders are counting on you !!

  3. Don’t forget there is also talk { plans } to make social security a welfare program { Means testing } so if get a private pension why should one get it. ? Plans to make toll roads of all interstates. So not just taxes but fees and increase co pay { How is that free Medicare promised by Democrats ? }

  4. “This is going to seem like heresy from a progressive” – Is he daft? That’s what Progressives do! Tax everything. Carbonated beverages. Internet purchases from other states (despite Article One Section Nine, powers denied to the states). Motor fuel. Carbon. Cigarettes. End user pays the taxes that increase the cost of production or distribution at any point.

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